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Rinnaelle Belcarthe
Margravine Rinnaelle Belcarthe (Ravensald) is the only child and bastard daughter of Joseph Ravensald and Cordelia Rosamont. She is the wife of Magrave Cedric Belcarthe. Appearance As a child Rinnaelle battled with her body, oftentimes being ridiculed for her height and lanky stature. In terms of height, she took after her father and such loftiness took its toll on the young girl. From a young age, she preferred the work of men and often times dressed in mens clothing to shift the ridicule away from herself. When she began to train as a soldier in the King's Army the years of ridicule simply faded as Rinnaelle quickly came to the realization that her tall and lanky stature was well suited for battle. It was through that training and the hearty diet offered inside the Army that she began to not just build up muscle, but fill out as well. As a grown woman, both in and out of armor, Rinnaelle Ravensald has come to embody the term statuesque. And while Rinnaelle made every attempt to hide herself behind the guise of a boy as a young girl, there was no hiding the strong femininity and dark beauty that she would acquire with age. High cheekbones and an aquiline nose were paired with a strong jaw and a well-defined chin that perfectly framed her full lips and dark-lidded almond-shaped green eyes. And while she never seems to wear cosmetics of any kind, Rinnaelle does care for her lightly freckled olive-toned skin as well as her thick black hair, which is almost always pulled back into a ponytail or a braid and tucked into her armor. There are subtle things that are done such as a maintenence of her eyebrows to stay shaped in a high arch, or the two holes in each earlobe that speak to a well hidden sense of pride in her appearance. Time and experience have made Rinnaelle stern and stoic in her expression, an expression she wears as well as she wears her armor. Years of warfare and disciplinary actions have made her retreat into that armor in order to protect herself. Little care is given to the unflattering presentation of a professional soldier or the way in which she exaggerates her accent to embody the statement she often uses to describe herself as if it were a badge of honour, "I'm so lowborn I bleed sheep shit." '' On the rare occasions that Rinnaelle allows herself to be unarmored in dress as well as expression, the pragmatic low-born soldier of no education is set aside and a well-adjusted woman transfixed on the sensualities of the world around her emerges. Her accent softens and she is rarely found out of a dress or without a book in her hand. '''A Rememberance in Flesh' During her time training in the Light at Northshire Abbey, Rinnaelle often made trips down to the southern reaches of Stranglethorn Vale to seek out a Bloodsail tattoo artist. What little stipend that was earned from her pay in the Alliance Army was put towards the tattoo. Over the period of two years, a full-sleeve tattoo covering her left arm from wrist to shoulder and onto her collarbone was brought to life as a bittersweet rememberance to a home lost beneath the waves and a reminder that her country remained to be reaqcuired. The tattoo is a series of bone white skulls, apples so red they almost seemed black and blood red roses entwined through intricate gold and silver Gilnean knotwork. At the top of her shoulder a black raven departs. Personality Pragmatic. Pragmatic is the term most commonly associated with Rinnaelle Ravensald, at times her pragmatism is as much of a boon to her as it is a fault. She is a grounded individual who looks towards realism rather than idealism. This tendency has made her a brutally honest individual who has often times found it difficult to advance in friendships or in her career. Neither the lack of advancement nor the lack of friendships seem to bother Rinnaelle. Though, she has admittedly privately that her tendency to stubbornly fixate on things in the past has made her hinder her own personal growth in ways that until recently, could be overlooked. Rinnaelle is quite reserved and stoic publicly, tending to hide her curiosity and intellect behind the mental armors that she's constructed for herself. Three things that do come out regardless of surroundings are the natural morality that defines both her and her work. She has a strong sense of compassion that is bolstered by her undaunted tenacity and highlighted by a deeply rooted sense of respect. History Born to the Flock Joseph Ravensald was not a man of wealth or power. What land he owned he inherited from his father, Bertrand Ravensald, a blacksmith in the town of Duskhaven. Bertrand was known for the artistry in which he created swords and axes that were prized in southern Gilneas. Joseph, however, did not have his fathers talents and rather than put in the effort to learn such talents, he chased skirts and regaled outsiders with stories that became more outlandish the further into a bottle of his homemade apple brandy that he found himself. Bertrand Ravensald was quick to note that the only person to tame his son was the Harvest Witch, Cordelia Rosamont, and she could do so with a single look. Whatever hold it was that Cordelia Rosamont had over Joseph Ravensald lasted only as long as her presence on the Ravensald farmstead or within the town of Duskhaven. It was during those times that the two enjoyed brief romantic interludes that began as swiftly as they ended, the last of which brought the Harvest Witch back to the Ravensald farmstead heavy with child. The day that Rinnaelle Ravensald chose to enter the world was not one of any particular note. It was a foggy morning. Without knowing that Cordelia would be going into labor shortly after the sun rose, Bertrand and Joseph had decided to keep their flock of Cotswald sheep in their pens. Wolves had been seen lately and neither man wanted to risk losing one of the flock so close to wool harvest. Neither of the men suspected they would be losing Cordelia, though the Harvest Witch knew when the first contractions began. By the time Rinnaelle was born, a day and a night had come and gone. Though she was a perfectly healthy newborn brought into the foggy Gilnean dawn, she would not know the Witch who had given birth to her past the few fleeting moments that marked the end of Cordelia Rosamont's life. Joseph Ravensald found a direction for his life with the birth of his daughter. He never blamed her for the death of her mother nor became angry with her as his father feared he would. Rather, Joseph became a doting and overly protective father. His taste for his homemade apple brandy became a treat enjoyed only after Rinnaelle had gone to sleep and women went through a gauntlet of judgements before they were brought into the Ravensald home. Bertrand was proud of the way in which his son taught Rinnaelle everything he knew, she was left out of nothing and even learned how to hold her own in a fight. And while the two men could not afford to have Rinnaelle tutored properly, they mustered what resources they had to ensure that she was at least taught educational basics. Runaway As a child, Rinnaelle had the concerns of a child. The political upheaval and the construction of Greymane's Wall did little to impact her adventures in and around the pastures and orchards that her father and grandfather maintained. What little she knew of it at that time was limited to whispered conversations she was often caught eavesdropping on. It wasn't until her grandfather had been killed for refusing to craft or sell blades to the Rebels when he was giving them away to the Loyalists, that Rinnaelle became politically active. Bertrand Ravensald could do little to control his grieving daughter who seemed to go out of her way to compound his grief by her stubborn insistence to enlist with the King's Army. When Rinnaelle seemed to disappear without a word at the height of the Northgate Rebellion, Bertrand didn't need to look for his daughter to know where she had gone. The King's Gate Much to Rinnaelle's dismay, when her basic training ended and she had learned how to weild a sword and hold a bulwark, she was assigned to the King's Gate to act as security along the road leading up and into the Greymane Estate. It was from that post that she could see the Ravensald farmstead and her choice of living quarters was either in the town of Duskhaven in barracks she'd known to be riddled with bedbugs or home. There was no drama or ceremony to her return to the Ravensald farmstead, just a father's embrace and a bottle of apple brandy to share as they discussed the months that had passed. Bertrand was thankful to not only have his daughter back but that there would once again be two incomes to support the daily needs of running the farm and two bodies to share the workload. The years passed easily for the two Ravensalds, Rinnaelle helped around the farmstead on her time off and took her leaves for wool and apple harvests. While the Northgate Rebellion continued to rip the country apart, there was a simple peace that existed on the farmstead. Following the Northgate Rebellion, Rinnaelle often times found herself on the recieving end of disciplinary actions that helped to ensure the promotions she qualified for were never realized so that she could remain at the King's Gate. Bertrand pushed his daughter to better even though it meant tending to the farmstead alone, he wanted more for her than the life of a soldier and the life of a shepard. His concern about her future was only compounded when she began to take up with a poet in Duskhaven. Donovan Atraides was a man whose only wealth was the creative intellect that was trapped inside his head. While his poetry was well-written, it was often times too lewd for public consumption. Bertrand could do little to sway his daughter's interest in the man over the years and over time, he eventually stopped trying and accepted that while Donovan did little to ensure a financially sound future for Rinnaelle, he did encourage the growth of the woman she was rather than the soldier she liked to be. He also silently commended them both on avoiding the conception of any children. Rinnaelle often looked back on the years she was at the King's Gate as some of fondest memories of Gilneas before its fall. Affliction When word started coming south from the wall of the Worgen, Rinnaelle Ravensald was at the King's Gate. Immediately, the gate was closed and all personnel were required to stay at their posts. For Rinnaelle and the men and women she served with at the gate who called Duskhaven home, this became a special hell. There was little they could do save to protect the gate at all costs. When the threat of the Worgen began to be contained, Rinnaelle was given orders to see to the well being of Duskhaven. What she found of Donovan Atraides was a mercy compared to the half-transformed body of her father, Bertrand. Donovan had been nothing but a meal for the Worgen, whereas her father had become afflicted but unable to survive the trauma of the changes. Rinnaelle's grief for either man was internalized, there was work to do and worgen to capture. Krennan Aranas had found refuge in Duskhaven to work on the compound that would allow the afflicted to retain their humanity. In spite of the horrors of what the worgen seemed to be, Rinnaelle Ravensald could only see the faces of comrades and countrymen. Without being cognizant of the change in her mentality, she had begun to accept the Worgen as the evolving face of the Gilnean people. Into the Sea The period of adjustment for the afflicted and those learning to live with the afflicted was a short one and violently interrupted by the Catacylsm. What had begun in Duskhaven for Rinnaelle as a chance to aid in the psychological rehabilitation of the afflicted quickly turned into a rescue effort of another kind. The first rumbles that echoed throughout Azeroth brought with them an influx of the Forsaken through the wall and by sea. It was in fighting these Forsaken that Rinnaelle began to deeply appreciate the power of the afflicted, the thought of it the curse coming to them now seemed serendipitous for a fleeting moment. As areas of the coast began to crumble into the sea, Rinnaelle Ravensald was among the soldiers of the King's Army that helped protect and guide the refugees into the safety of Graymane Manor. She fought through waves of Forsaken and their golems, she fought with a courage that she never once had believed truly existed inside of her. She fought with as much intelligence as she could in terms of self-preservation to keep herself from being plagued or bitten, even scratched accidentally. Looking back on the days of the Cataclysm and the invasion of the Forsaken, Rinnaelle found it fitting that her first and last post would be the King's Gate. Exodus Rinnaelle Ravensald didn't look away when the ships took them away from Gilneas and to Darnassus. She couldn't. She could barely fathom losing the only home she'd ever known, her country. While her people survived their way of life was about to change entirely. No longer would the braying of her Cotswalds wake her in the morning. No longer would she harvest Gilnean Blacks for the Ravensald Apple Brandy that sold out every year in the southern Headlands. She couldn't look away even after the coastline disappeared from view. Before even arriving in Darnassus, Rinnaelle had made up her mind to return to the Eastern Kingdoms to seek training in the ways of the Light, if it would be allowed for her. She hadn't been afflicted, she was just a woman and to go against the Forsaken would be a fool's errand without the training of the Light, or so she figured. Her boots had barely even hit the docks of Rut'theran Village before she was running off to book passage to Stormwind City. The Lessons of Northshire While the Church of the Holy Light seemed more than happy to train Rinnaelle Ravensald in the ways of the Light as a Paladin given her personal philosophies, physical abilities, her sense of morality and tenacious determination, there was an unspoken tension. The teachings of faith never seemed to sink in, though she was able to grasp the Light as a tool. Her piety to the three tenants remained strong though it seemed less born of the teachings of the Priests within the Church and more a sense of personal morality. Rinnaelle did not remain in Northshire long, after a few years of training she believed she had learned all she would ever need without utilizing the pragmatic foresight her former commanding officers had so often commended her for and departed the Abby in order to take up arms with the Alliance Army. Dreams of Fog and Rain Rinnaelle Ravensald's time with the Alliance Army was a haunted time. She could not shake the feelings of insecurity within the ranks and those feelings often lead her to make rookie mistakes. The men and women she served alongside were not Gilnean, nor did they take the time to understand what it meant to be Gilnean. Then again, Rinnaelle put no effort into understanding what it would be like to be anything but Gilnean. Even amoung other Gilneans, the wounds of the Northgate Rebellion remained and were paired with the mark of being afflicted or not. An Afflicted Rebel would have a tendency to ignore Rinnaelle completely, whereas an Non-Afflicted Rebel would just dislike her on the principle that she had been a Loyalist. It seemed that the further away from Gilneas that time took her, the deeper into her armor and depression that Rinnaelle sunk into. Every night she dreamt of rain and ravens. Each morning she woke in the barracks and made her rounds as if she were lost in a fog. Time and time again, she was brought before her superior officers and quickly dismissed. Just another homesick Gilnean. Didn't she realize how many refugees from Southshore and Lordaeron there were? It wasn't until Rinnaelle came across another Gilnean, a man by the name of Cedric Belcarthe, just over a year before swearing herself to the crown of the Kingdom of Lordaeron Restored, that a change was noted in her behaviour. The two were rarely seen apart, though neither of them seemed to be involved in anything more than a close friendship. In and out of the barracks Rinnaelle was bombarded with questions pertaining to the relationship between the two, questions that were quickly answered with a dismissive and vague, ''"We're companions." '' The truth of their relationship was simply that they were lovers. With Lord Cedric Belcarthe of Saelborough, Rinnaelle Ravensald had found a companion and a friend in which she could leave all of her armor both physical and mental behind. She found that in protecting the nature of their relationship, they had ensured the privacy that was required for them to truly cultivate the hopes and plans they crafted to return to their homeland while helping one another through the issues and grief that lingered with the losses they had both experienced. It was their relationship and the candid conversations born within it that lead Rinnaelle to request a discharge from the Alliance Army that was granted without so much as a question. Now freed of her obligations, she and Cedric began their journey north. A journey they both prayed would take them home. Restoration and Service With the opinion that Gilneas does not stand a chance of being truly cleansed and rebuilt without first ensuring a fully restored Lordaeron, Rinnaelle Ravensald pledged her allegiance to the Queen under the service of Lord Viktor Romel and the Queen's Gilnean Legion. Starkholme At Starkholme in Myrwood, Rinnaelle Ravensald first fought under the Queen's banner to clean out the Scourge that remained within the hold. It was there that she witnessed an attack upon Argent Crusaders, using the dead that those under the command of Sir Terrien Ashmoor utilized to defeat the Scourge that remained. After refusing to take up arms against the Crusaders, Rinnaelle could do nothing save to bear witness before returning to Stranglehold to report what she had seen. Unshakeable Morality Though Rinnaelle had been told to keep silent on the atrocities she witnessed at Starkholme, her personality morality would not allow it. In an act that was stupidly courageous, Rinnaelle stood before King-consort Falomyr and spoke true of the actions she had seen. No one within the court would stand with her to verify her claims, leaving her to prove her honesty in a fight to the death. If what she spoke was true, King Falomyr surmised that the Light would grant her strength and victory over Sir Terrien Ashmoor. In the face of court and against skill that surpassed her own, Rinnaelle Ravensald was defeated and labeled dishonest. It was her willingness to die for her accusations that gained her the King's pardon that saved her life. Ravenwood While Rinnaelle's actions were seen as stupid and her words condemned as a lie, there were those with whom she had gained a respect. Resolute in finishing her training in the ways of the Light outside of merely philosophy and knowing that the Light had not abandoned her, Rinnaelle sought out Lord Theodore Varill. She was accepted as his apprentice and sent to Ravenwood by Lord Viktor Romel as a Knight of the Grasp, with the faith she would serve as a paragon of Gilneas. Bound by the Old Ways Before moving to Ravenwood to focus on her training, Rinnaelle and the Lord of Saelborough, Cedric Belcarthe, returned to their homeland. With the aid of the Harvest Witch Vivian Rosamont, the pair were able to make their way into the heart of the Blackwald. It was there that they were wed by Lord Nicholas Graveshire of Greymoon Isle. ((WIP)) Category:Characters Category:Human Category:Gilnean Category:Soldiers Category:Blades of Greymane Category:House of Belcarthe